Chesterfield Spending $221,000 for "Aesthetic Enhancements" to New Bridge

When the Missouri Department of Transportation finishes building the new Chesterfield Airport Road Bridge over Highway 40, it will bear several “aesthetic enhancements” courtesy of the city of Chesterfield.

The city council has appropriated $221,000 for the work, which will install a “City of Chesterfield” logo on the walls facing oncoming traffic and add stains to the bridges barrier walls. Chesterfield Planning and Public Works Director Michael Geisel said it will be similar in appearance to the bridges over Route 141 on the east end of the city.

However, the project earned the green light over the opposition of Chesterfield’s three newly elected council members, who said they were concerned about the cost of the project at a city council meeting Monday.

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“I would like to get more of our police and infrastructure items back up to where they need to be rather than spending funds on these kinds of aesthetic improvements,” said Dan Hurt, a council member from Ward 3 who unseated incumbent Randy Logan in April.

He echoed sentiments from Nancy Greenwood, a former mayor now representing Ward 1, who noted that it follows on the heels of the city’s effort to “rightsize” its operations.

Another newly elected member, Bruce DeGroot from Ward 4, also voted against the ordinance approving the funds, which passed by a vote of 5-3.

During a city council work session, Geisel explained that the work will actually be performed by MoDOT, who also drew up the designs for the project. He added that the issue had already come up before the council in February.

At that time, MoDOT did not believe a formal agreement would be required. They have since decided otherwise and asked the city to approve a specific ordinance, Geisel said.